Late Friday, President Trump rescinded the 5 percent tariffs that he had threatened to impose on goods coming in from Mexico that were expected to go into effect today, June 10.
“The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended,” Trump said in a tweet on Friday evening.
According to a Reuters report, the expected tariffs were pulled back after three days of talks in Washington, where both countries said Mexico agreed to expand along the entire border a program that sends migrants seeking asylum in the United States to Mexico while they await adjudication of their cases. Trump said Mexico had agreed to take strong measures to “reduce, or eliminate” illegal immigration from Mexico.
While Trump has suggested relations are back to normal, others in the administration have said the President reserves the right to renew his tariff threats should he find the efforts of Mexico’s National Guard unsatisfactory. One official told the New York Times, “The tariff threat is not gone. It’s suspended.”
President Trump confirmed this position in a Tweet on Sunday, in which he stated, “There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs.”
When the tariffs were announced in late May, U.S. business groups cautioned that the proposed tariffs would hurt American companies and consumers.
“These tariffs will be paid by American families and businesses without doing a thing to solve the very real problems at the border. Instead, Congress and the president need to work together to address the serious problems at the border,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement last week, suggesting the Chamber would also consider a legal challenge against the new tariffs on Mexico.
The National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade association in the U.S., warned that the new tariffs on Mexican goods would be detrimental to consumers.
“The growing tariff bill paid by U.S. businesses and consumers is adding up and will raise the cost of living for American families," senior vice president for government relations David French said in a statement. “Forcing Americans to pay more for produce, electronics, auto parts and clothes isn’t the answer to the nation’s immigration challenges, and this certainly won’t help move USMCA forward.”
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